Claire woke up in her bed, the pain in her head and body so strong that she couldn't do anything but lay there, trying to squeeze her eyes shut so that no light came through. She let out a little whine, feeling like she couldn't move her body.
"You're okay, Claire."
She knew the voice, and she wanted to reach out and find the person, but her body wouldn't let her. She tried moving her hand, but nothing was budging, leaving her with panic filing her whole body. Claire relaxed when she felt a rough hand grab hers, but she still couldn't move. It didn't matter how hard she tried, she just ended up falling back asleep as soon as she thought she was about to move.
"Just wake up....please."
She couldn't place either of the voices but she knew that she was safe.
"Why did you let him do this?"
"Sometimes it is necessary to suffer in order to become our true selves."
Claire drifted in and out of sleep, but she could never wake up completely. There were two voices that were there every day, and occasionally a third. She rarely heard the voice from the first day, but she knew that he came by every once in a while. She heard a few other voices that she heard, but she didn't know who they were.
"I need you, Claire. Please wake up."
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Remus was miserable. He found it harder than ever to live without Claire, especially with Sirius being on the run. Lyall came by at least once a week, but other than that he was by himself, occasionally finding a job to work. He was mostly living off of money that Sirius had given him, but he was too proud to use it on himself. Instead, he was spending it on Claire's room and buying her new clothes.
Remus had experienced his worst full moon ever the first month that Claire left. He felt like he was more violent than ever, and it lasted longer than it ever had, even seeming to last past when the full moon went away. He didn't understand what had happened until Dumbledore had shown up on his doorstep, Claire passed out in his arms. Remus had almost fallen to his knees, thinking that his daughter was dead since her skin was pale and there was blood dried on the corner of her mouth. Dumbledore gave no explanation that day, simply dropping off Claire and informing Remus that Sirius would be there soon to help.
Claire had been asleep for almost a full month, only surviving on potions that Professor Snape dropped off every week. Sirius had been by her side just as much as Remus, only hiding when people other than Dumbledore or Lyall would come over.
"You need to sleep," Sirius whispered as he came into Claire's room. Remus was sitting on the chair next to Claire, just watching in hopes that she woke up.
"I just want to know what happened," Remus responded, his voice broken as he sobbed a little. Sirius frowned and came to stand behind the chair, wrapping his arms around Remus' shoulders and leaning his head on the werewolf's. Remus interlocked one of their hands and then used his free hand to wipe away the few tears that he had let fall.
"I'm sure Dumbledore will tell us soon," Sirius tried to say reassuringly, but even he was tired of waiting for an answer. He had never known panic like he did when Dumbledore's patronus had found him and he got the message that Claire was hurt and he needed to return immediately.
"I don't know what to do," Remus sighed, hiccupping a little. Sirius sighed too and reluctantly moved so he was standing in front of Remus, kneeling down and grabbing both of the man's scarred hands. Sirius hated seeing Remus like this, and it had gotten worse with the full moon approaching. Sirius had made Remus smile for the first time by making a joke about his transformation being like a period, but the smile didn't last long. Sirius had spent all his time at Hogwarts putting on a fake smile, so he was the one comforting Remus and pretending like he had hope.
"You need to sleep," Sirius insisted again. "Claire is going to be mad when she wakes up and you're exhausted."
"I know, but I'm so scared that I'll go to sleep and she'll wake up," Remus explained, leaning forward and resting his forehead on Sirius' for a second before he leaned back in the chair, running his hands through his unwashed hair.
"I'll stay awake and I'll get you if she wakes up," Sirius assured the man. They had had this conversation many times before, but Remus was in such a daze from almost losing his daughter that it was like he couldn't remember. He kept thinking of how miserable he was when he wasn't a part of her life, and he didn't know what he would do if she died.
"Thank you," Remus whispered. Sirius sent his friend a sad smile and helped him stand, wincing a little when Remus groaned at the pain.
"Do you want me to ask Snape for some Wolfsbane?" Sirius asked as he escorted Remus out of the room.
"I doubt he'd do it," Remus said. "You haven't seen how he looks at me. He thinks it's my fault that she's like this."
"It's not," Sirius promised the werewolf as they made it to his room. Remus sighed and fell on his bed heavily. Sirius sat on the floor so he could be at eye level and gently pushed back Remus' hair so it wasn't in his face, holding back a grimace from his badly it needed to be washed. Remus barely remembered to eat, so Sirius wasn't surprised that he hadn't washed his hair in what was probably a week.
"But it is," Remus protested. "I'm the werewolf. I'm the one who gave her this...this disease. She should hate me."
"She doesn't. She absolutely adores you, Moons. You know that," Sirius said, his eyebrows furrowed in sadness.
"She won't even call me dad," Remus argued.
"Dumbledore made you abandon her," Sirius reminded the man. "He practically threatened to reveal that you were a werewolf just so you wouldn't talk or see Claire. It's not your fault, and Claire knows that. Plus, I was gone for twelve years, and still seems to adore me just fine."
"You're not her dad," Remus said, much ruder than he intended. He sighed and sat up at the sad puppy eyes that Sirius gave him.
"I want to be," Sirius said in what was practically a whisper.
"Pads,....it's not the time," Remus sighed. Sirius moved so he was sitting on the bed, grabbing Remus' hands.
"When will it be time?" Sirius asked. "I would do anything for you...for you and for Claire, and you know that. Please, Moons...I love you."
"I...I love you too," Remus admitted, looking away when he saw the hopeful look in Sirius' eyes. "But Claire needs me right now. I need to focus on her."
Sirius was silent for a moment, removing his hands.
"Please understand," Remus pleaded. "You know how I feel, it's just...it's too much."
"I know, I'm sorry for bringing it up," Sirius said, having to clear his throat before he started talking. "I just thought that we were...that we were finally back to where we used to be when Claire was first born. I just can't keep pretending that I'm not madly in love with you. We were great together, Remus, and I want that again."
"You should probably go sit with Claire, just in case," Remus answered, completely ignoring how he wanted to just pull Sirius as close to him as possible and never let go. Instead he stood up and made his way to go shower, ignoring the man he left broken hearted.
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"Who is this?" Remus questioned the second he opened the door to let Dumbledore in to the house, Professor Snape sneering in the back. The boy was young, maybe a few years older than Claire, and his sharp features made him look intimidating, especially paired with the dark circles under his eyes.
"This is Leonardo Greyback," Dumbledore introduced, ignoring how the boy's jaw tightened at the use of his last name.
"Greyback...like the werewolf?" Remus asked, looking apprehensively at the boy. He wanted Sirius to be there with him, but the two barely talked to each other since the events two days before. Remus hated himself, but he had to put his daughter first.
"The one and only," Leo said bitterly.
"Severus, please go administer the potion while we make some tea and sit," Dumbledore instructed before Remus could ask more questions. Dumbledore guided Leo into the small sitting area while Remus made some tea, his hands shaking from a lack of sleep, worry, and some anger. Snape returned at the same time as the tea was done giving Claire the potion to keep her from starving or getting dehydrated, so the men all sat down and turned to Dumbledore.
"Mr. Greyback-"
"Leo."
Dumbledore let the shock of being interrupted sit on his face for only a second before nodding at the young boy.
"Leo," Dumbledore started over. "Is also a Moon Child, although his mother was only half werewolf seeing as her mother was human while her dad was a werewolf."
"That's impossible!" Remus protested.
"Ah, but nothing is impossible," Dumbledore countered, a small smile on his face. "There are many Moon Children that the Ministry of Magic doesn't know about. Claire is the only one born to two full werewolves who has lived this long, but there are many others in situations like Leo's."
Dumbledore was interrupted by Sirius coming into the room, yawning as he ruffled his hair, his eyes half closed. Before anyone knew what was happening, Snape had his wand pointed at Sirius, shoving him against the wall. Remus immediately had his wand on Snape while Sirius just looked around in shock, not knowing that anyone was stopping by that day.
"Kinky," Leo chuckled, leaning back and enjoying the chaos.
"Severus, there is no need for that," Dumbledore said calmly.
"Albus, you cannot possibly-"
"Let him go," Remus said darkly. Snape glared at the werewolf but released Sirius from his grip.
"It's nice to see you too, Snape," Sirius mocked, rubbing his neck where he had a wand pressed to it.
"We have more pressing matters to attend to, Severus, so I will explain later, but for now, Mr. Black is more than welcome to sit and join us," Dumbledore said calmly. Snape slowly sat down, glaring at Sirius and Remus, who sat down on the same couch but as far away from the other as they could.
"I just....why didn't you tell me there were other Moon Children?" Remus asked with a heavy sigh. Sirius furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but, surprisingly, didn't say anything.
"It wasn't my secret to share," Dumbledore explained. "I have known about their existence for many years, but Leo is the one to form the pack. I believed that they were working on Voldemort's side, especially after the Quidditch World Cup, but that changed once I talked with Leo. They just want to live side by side with the humans without facing prejudice, and they were willing to side with whoever could do that for them."
"The Dark Lord never spoke of the pack," Snape argued, sounding a little uncomfortable. Sirius and Remus both glared in his direction a little.
"I'm a kid," Leo shrugged. "I only formed the pack three years ago, and it's not like I was exactly smart enough to think things through."
"At first, Leo and the pack had plans to kidnap Claire, release Ms. Rosier from Azkaban, and use them to rise to power," Dumbledore admitted.
"Get the fuck out of my house," Remus said calmly, standing up and crossing over to where Leo was sitting before anyone knew what was happening. "How dare you sit in my house when you want to do that."
"She's my soulmate," Leo said, standing up as well, although he was shorter than Remus. "I'm not hers, but I knew as soon as I saw her at the World Cup. You know how it goes, you just showed us. You'd do anything to protect them, even if it means going against what you were taught."
"I wouldn't allow Leo to go to Hogwarts if I thought he was a threat," Dumbledore said. Remus' chest was heaving and he didn't know what to think.
"Let's hear them out," Sirius said softly, grabbing Remus' hand and trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach at the simple touch. Remus needed the comfort of Sirius, so he let the other man guide him back to the couch, the two of them sitting next to each other.
"I'll admit that I want power," Leo started, his voice shaky and unsure as he couldn't look anyone in the eye. "I want it so much that I don't even have the words. But what I want more than anything else in the world is for Claire to be safe, even if it means changing sides."
"I found Leo after the World Cup," Dumbledore continued. "He has helped all the Moon Children and knows more than anyone else. He agreed to take a truth potion and admitted everything. Leo was kind enough to offer his services: he would attend Hogwarts and monitor Claire. I told him that he has permission to intervene if he thought that she was going down the wrong path, and he thought that it was time to intervene."
"Wait, you're the reason she's like this?!" Sirius exclaimed.
"She's fine," Leo sighed as if tired of having to tell people. "She'll wake up at the full moon. Every Moon Child has to fully accept their powers and be accepted by the moon, too."
"What does that mean?" Snape asked, his voice showing concern for his goddaughter while his face remained passive.
"It means that she couldn't control her powers, and I was spending every night monitoring her dreams. She almost died one night because of how powerful her dream was, and the next day I could see the light emitting from her brighter than ever, and I'm sure others did too," Leo explained. "The ceremony messes with you a little, but it's painless, and once she wakes up, she'll have better control of her powers and she won't almost die every night because of her dreams."
"This makes no sense," Remus breathed out. "I'm her father, you should've told me. Why didn't she tell me?"
"I knew that if you were to know, you would not allow this to happen," Dumbledore answered. "Leo gave me weekly updates, and I knew that she was getting too sick every month. I was the one who told him that the ceremony could proceed."
"You had no right," Remus said in a growl before he angrily stood up, his arm swinging out and purposefully knocking everything off of the table next to him. Sirius tried to restrain him, but the werewolf was too strong. "You had NO right!"
"Mr. Lupin, please-"
"Get out!" Remus screamed, ignoring the looks on the faces around him "You let him do this to my daughter! You had no right!"
"You'll understand once she wakes," Dumbledore said simply as he left, ushering Leo and Snape with him. Remus didn't miss the lingering glance that Leo sent down the hallway, and he felt pity in that second, knowing how it felt to be so close yet so far away from your soulmate. But the pity turned back into anger in a second.
"Why did you let him do this?" Remus asked in a whisper right before they left.
"Sometimes it is necessary to suffer in order to become our true selves," Dumbledore said, a look of pity on his face before he apparated away. Remus growled and felt the anger coursing through his body at how helpless he felt.
"Please, Moons," Sirius pleaded, making the werewolf finally calm down enough to notice that he had punched a wall and his hand was now bleeding, making Sirius tentatively hold it, his eyes wide with worry. Remus had always been the silent angry type and it unnerved Sirius to see him so upset.
"I want to kill them," Remus cried, leaning into Sirius' shoulder and sobbing.
"She's alive, Remus, and from what they said, she'll wake up tomorrow after the full moon," Sirius tried to reassure his friend. Remus nodded and grabbed Sirius' hand, making his way into his daughters' room to see her one last time before the full moon took his body and turned him into the monster he hated.
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"Where the hell is she, Leo?" Draco asked angrily, shoving the other boy into the wall and holding his arm to the boy's throat so he couldn't move. Leo just sent Draco a smirk that left his face when Draco pushed his arm further into his throat.
"Chill, Draco," Theo warned, seeing all the students gather to watch the impromptu spectacle. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were right at the front, and Harry looked like he wanted to join Draco in the interrogation.
"What makes you think I know?" Leo asked, his voice sounding calm.
"She went with you into the woods almost a full month ago, you don't show up to school, and now, almost a month later, you're suddenly here and she's not," Draco said with a cold, humorless laugh. Leo looked calm from the outside perspective, but Draco could see in his eyes that there was a panic.
"She just has mono, that's all. And I've been...vacationing," Leo said with a smirk.
"Bullshit!" Harry yelled suddenly.
"Harry, no!" Hermione exclaimed as Harry went to join Draco, but he didn't listen. The students were enjoying the show, and somehow none of the professors had noticed yet.
"We know you know what happened, Leo," Harry said darkly. "Just tell us."
"I can't," Leo said honestly. Draco let his arm fall at the sincerity in the boy's voice.
"Where is she?" Draco asked.
"She's with her dad and the dog," Leo explained. Draco furrowed his eyebrows at the mention of the dog while Harry gasped.
"Did you see them? See her?" Harry asked. The students were walking away in disappointment that there hadn't been a fight, only Blaise, Theo, Ron, and Hermione waiting.
"I saw them, but not her, but I know she's safe and alive," Leo promised. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I've missed some homework over the past month."
Leo tried to shove through, but Harry and Draco both shoved him back against the wall again.
"Man, people are being really kinky today," Leo muttered. Harry grimaced in disgust but Draco ignored his remark.
"I swear to Merlin, if I find out that you did something to her, that you hurt her, I'll kill you myself," Draco threatened.
"You'll have to wait in line," Leo said with a small smirk before he could finally push past the two boys. He sauntered off in the direction of Dumbledore's office, and only Harry noticed that his hands were shaking at his side.
"Potter," Draco said suddenly. "Thank you."
Those words seemed to pain Draco to say, and Harry knew that they would've pained him as well.
"Anything for Claire," Harry said, and Draco nodded in agreement and went to walk towards his friends, but Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him back, lowering his voice so no one else could hear him. "Stay away from her, Malfoy. You and I both know that she's too good for you."
"I know, and I would if I could," Draco responded, joining Theo and Blaise but only thinking of Claire.
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Claire thought that she knew what pain was, but it was nothing compared to the pain coursing through her body. For the first time in weeks, her throat finally allowed her to scream, so she screamed at the top of her lungs, the pain consuming her body.
"I've got you, Claire."
It was a voice that she knew, but she didn't know who it was. It sounded both panicked and hopeful at the same time.
"Maybe...maybe if we go outside."
Claire could feel herself being lifted and could hear the sound of her patio doors being opened. Once she was outside it felt like she was being bathed in warm light, all her pain gone.
"Oh, Merlin help us all."
Claire didn't know how long she stayed outside. It was the first time in weeks that she hadn't felt near constant pain and she could feel herself start to regain control of her body, as if she was taking the control back. She felt energized and for just a spilt second, she was able to open her eyes with a gasp. All she saw was the moon before she was pulled back into the forced slumber.
"Please, Claire, you were so close! Just...just think of me and your dad. He's going to be so excited to come home and you're awake. Please."
Claire wanted nothing more than to wake up, but she was fighting a battle and she didn't know if she was winning or not. She could feel herself be placed back on her bed not long after, a comforting weight not leaving her hand. The voice read her stories for the rest of the night, occasionally stopping to yawn or take a sip of water, but he made sure his voice was soothing as if reading to get a child to go to sleep.
"They lied."
"Oh, Moons, what happened?"
"They said she'd be awake."
"Moony, you need to let me take care of these cuts."
"She's not awake."
"Remus, please."
Claire could hear someone sitting down next to her, and a different weight in her hand.
"I need you, Claire. Please wake up."
"Dad?"